You may need to do less convincing to get home shoppers to make their move in the housing market. Fannie Mae’s Home Purchase Sentiment Index rose 2.2 percentage points in April, with five of six components rising that measure confidence in buying, employment, household incomes, financing, and more.The share of Americans who say now is a good time to buy rose 5 percentage points in April. However, the net share of those saying now is a good time
Soaring home prices aren't denting investors' appetite in many markets. "We are seeing more investors and new investors," says Steve Hovland, director of research at HomeUnion, a real estate investment marketplace. "The Fed has really been helping us out. Interest rates are not as high as they have been in past cycles. Commercial real estate is overheated. The bull stock market has been running for a long time, so investors are looking to diversi
Kitchen upgrades have overtaken bathroom updates as the remodeling project homeowners want most, according to the National Association of Home Builders' Remodeling Market Index report covering the first quarter of 2017. Bathroom renovations previously held the number one spot, but kitchen redos barely pulled ahead in the most recent report.NAHB's survey showed these are the most common jobs for remodelers: Kitchen remodeling: 81% Bathroom remodel
Several states are offering homeownership assistance programs to recent college grads that may help them receive thousands of dollars toward the purchase of a home. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced the "Graduate to Homeownership" program, which provides assistance to first-time buyers who have graduated in the past two years from an accredited college or university with an associate's, bachelor's, master's, or doctorate degree. P
The number of U.S. properties considered "equity rich" has increased by nearly 1.4 million units from a year ago, according to the First Quarter 2017 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report produced by ATTOM Data Solutions. Now, more than 13.7 million homes—or about a quarter of all U.S. residential properties—fall within that category, which means the combined loan amount secured by the property is 50 percent or less than its estimated mark
Real estate markets in many cities are now even stronger than they were before the most recent housing crash. Last year, the national median home price rose to $227,000—even higher than its 2005 peak of $220,400. Home prices nationally have grown 26 percent since hitting bottom in 2011. At the local level, some markets are doing better than others.Realtor.com® analyzed the 150 largest metros in the country to find the cities that have rebounde
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Homeowners with a bad credit score can expect to pay double—in some cases, even nearly triple—what owners with solid credit pay for their home insurance, according to a new state-by-state study by insuranceQuotes.Policyholders with fair credit pay an average of 36 percent more than those with excellent credit, the study found. When a consumer's credit is poor, premiums can more than double, increasing an average of 114 percent.“Many consume
Renters want to make a place their own and fit their style, but it may cost them their security deposit.“If you decide to paint the walls while you are there, you must return them to their original color or the landlord is within their rights to use the deposit to pay for it themselves,” Trent Zachmann of Renters Warehouse told realtor.com®.Most landlords treat unapproved modifications and improvements made by renters the same as accidental
New-home construction is now taking place at around 1.2 million units annually, a welcome pickup to many buyers following years of slumps after the Great Recession. But a tight labor market means the workers have yet to return, and that lack of labor is increasing construction costs.When construction activity gained steam in 2012, the problem started to surface, and it has increased ever since, according to industry reports.“The share of builde
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